Prosecutor: Video of man shot in back by police officer will be made public

THE SLUSSER LAW FIRM VIA AP, AP

This undated photo provided by The Slusser Law Firm shows David Kassick. Hummelstown Police Officer Lisa Mearkle is charged with criminal homicide in the February 2015 death of Kassick.

This undated photo provided by The Slusser Law Firm shows David Kassick. Hummelstown Police Officer Lisa Mearkle is charged with criminal homicide in the February 2015 death of Kassick. (THE SLUSSER LAW FIRM VIA AP, AP)

Mark ScolforoAssociated Press

Pa. prosecutor says he'll release video showing officer shooting man

HARRISBURG — A prosecutor said Friday that he intends to make public a video of a police officer fatally shooting an unarmed man in the back as he lay face down.

District Attorney Ed Marsico notified a judge in Harrisburg that he will release the video Wednesday unless the judge intervenes.

"Many people have requested it — I'm not standing in the way of the requests," Marsico told reporters at a news conference on another topic.

Police say the video from the stun gun of Hummelstown police Officer Lisa Mearkle shows her shooting 59-year-old David Kassick twice after a Feb. 2 chase that began over expired inspection and emissions stickers.

She was charged March 24 with criminal homicide and awaits trial.

The judge had previously been asked by defense lawyers to block the video's release on grounds it could unfairly influence potential jurors and would give an incomplete picture of what occurred.

HARRISBURG — Footage from police vehicle dashboard cameras has long been broadcast on television and posted online, and there has been much debate about the use of body cameras for police since the fatal shooting last year of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.

But the existence of cameras...

(Mark Scolforo)

But Judge Deborah Curcillo declined to act unless prosecutors said they planned to make it public. Marsico said Friday afternoon that he hadn't heard back from the judge after announcing his plans to release it.

Mearkle's lawyers have said she acted in self-defense and was concerned that Kassick may have been reaching for a weapon. She is suspended without pay from the police force.

It's unclear why Kassick ran from police, but investigators found a syringe near his body that may have been his, and he had unspecified drugs in his bloodstream.

Authorities say Mearkle shocked Kassick four times with a stun gun, equipped with a video camera, before shooting him twice, four seconds apart, as he lay face down.